Hi Brycefow,
Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum.
Every new RV is going to have some warranty issues. In many cases, a thorough pre-delivery inspection (before signing the paperwork), can get problems corrected before you take delivery. And coincidentally, before signing the paperwork, the buyer has maximum leverage and the dealer is highly motivated. One of our owners has developed a Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) checklist that you can download from
this folder.
Beyond that, there's a certain amount of luck of the draw with any RV. Will there be 2 warranty issues or 5?
As you've already discovered, how a manufacturer responds is the most important factor. Heartland is pretty flexible. For example, with prior approval, you can get repairs done at a non-Heartland dealer, or at an independent repair shop, or by a mobile servicer. And with some problems, where self-repair is possible, Heartland often agrees to ship parts directly to the owner for self-repair. All of these practices help you avoid situations where you might have to drop the trailer off at your dealer and wait for months to get it back.
Heartland also has a service center in Elkhart. Occasionally there will be a problem that local dealers may not be well equipped to handle. In that case, Heartland often agrees to do the work at the service center. And the reputation of the Heartland service center is pretty amazing. When the schedule is full, Heartland sometimes also refers some work to a very experienced and capable dealer in Elkhart in order to speed things up for owners. Of course there are limits on how many rigs one service center can handle, so they won't do routine work that can be done elsewhere.
Sometimes a serious problem can show up after the warranty has expired. With some of these, Heartland has made goodwill accommodations to help owners.
Some years ago, we were on an extended ski trip and had a problem with the thermostat that operated the furnace. Dometic insisted we take it to a dealer, which was impossible due to weather and road conditions. I called Heartland for help and they initiated a 3-way call with Dometic. At Heartland's urging, Dometic not only sent me a thermostat, but also the control box the thermostat signals, just in case that's where the problem was.
And in addition to all of this, Heartland has a Director of Customer Interests who is also an owner and the club President, and the admin of this forum. When an owner reports having a problem getting his issues resolved, the report will often be forwarded to Heartland management for review.
No manufacturer's RVs are going to be perfect. But Heartland rises above most when it comes to keeping you on the road.
